In a seismic survey, a plurality of seismic sources, such as explosives, vibrators, air guns, and/or the like, may be sequentially activated near the surface of the earth or in a wellbore to generate energy (i.e., seismic waves) which may propagate into and through the earth. The seismic waves may be reflected back by geological formations within the earth, and the resultant seismic wavefield may be sampled by a plurality of seismic receivers, such as geophones, hydrophones and the like. Each receiver may be configured to acquire seismic data at the receiver's location, normally in the form of a seismogram representing the value of some characteristic of the seismic wavefield against time. The acquired seismograms or seismic data may be transmitted wirelessly or over electrical or optical cables to a recorder system. The recorder system may then store, analyze, and/or transmit the seismic data. This data may be used to generate an image of subsurface formations in the earth and may also be used to detect the possible presence of hydrocarbons, changes in the subsurface formations and the like.
In one scenario, three-dimensional (3D) surface seismic data may be generated and recorded by the receivers, where the 3D surface seismic data may represent a set of sound vibrations propagating in three dimensions within the earth (i.e., along x, y, and z axes). Such 3D surface seismic may be used to locate prospective reef development. Reef tops may mark an interface from shale to limestone that may creates a high-reflectivity event in the seismic wavefield. However, in some scenarios, 3D surface seismic images may have less resolution than images derived from other seismic data, such as by borehole seismic data.